Before and After: A vanity area makeover!

The very first room in our house that received a makeover was the main floor bathroom. This was a room that wasn’t even original to the house. In 1906 our farm house more than likely didn’t have all the conveniences of indoor plumbing. When we came to acquire it, the room was a disjointed layout off the kitchen with a rotted floor under the toilet and a swan etched into the glass shower door.

By the time we were done with it we had added a tile shower and a toilet nook and completely changed the entrance. Our vanity area was a combination of ideas ahead of their time. I improvised and while I loved the end result, I always knew it was going to be a battle of maintenance and wear and tear. So much so that we knew this area would need a refresh down the road. Here is the before and after of our mini bathroom makeover!

Before:

This furniture piece was a dining room buffet transformed into a vanity. The bead board wall was added for the extra insulation it provided for the plumbing and the faucets were mounted on an exterior product that looked like a wood grain white board. This mounting design was chosen due to the limitation of available faucets designed for vessel bowl sinks at the time. It worked, but it wasn’t perfect for long term maintenance.

As you can see from this picture, over 16 years of water splashing on the wood had taken its toll, despite the extra coat of mariners varnish we added before the sinks were installed. We didn’t want to change everything in the room so we decided to explore a granite counter top that would gently blend with while also updating the space.

The floor may appear dated, as it should being that it was chosen in the early 2000’s, but I still really like the broken river rock mosaic and the hint of black. I was having a hard time imagining a shiny counter top after living with the natural feel of the wood so I chose one that also had a matte option-

Now, I still remember when black counter tops were popular the first time, so this may seem like an odd choice for an update. The real reason this took the lead over a faux wood or white marble top was when I came across a pair of 100 lb rock sinks that I couldn’t stop thinking about.

I wasn’t convinced they could work the way the simple white bowls had until I updated my shower curtain with a black and white mountain scene and realized I was heading from a craftsman cottage vibe to a rustic mountain retreat.

Before:

After:

And from there we were all in on this look. We switched out the white board on top of the bead board for a custom milled piece of live edge locust that came from a tree on my family’s heritage land. The tree was actually planted by my great grandmother (more on this story to come!) and recovered after a road crew cut it down.

Despite my absolute and undying love for this wall shade of orange, a new color was on the table until Nick put the locust next to the orange and we both agreed to keep it. Here’s a look at how it all tied together-

Same vanity, same bead board wainscoting, same wall color, mirror and lights…but a totally new feeling with these granite sinks and live edge ledge. These faucets are not the original 2006 faucets but they were a replacement in anticipation of this light remodel a few years ago when the previous ones froze. It was a small price to pay the winter we tore our garage down to rebuild. We no longer have to worry about that with a new fully heated workshop and storage room on the other side of this wall.

This look may not be for everyone but it warms my heart. It’s the perfect combination of natural materials, statement pieces and sentimental finishes. We solved our greatest vanity woes without compromising on some of our favorite things from our original design. We traded wood counter tops for a wood ledge and went from the splashiest high maintenance sinks to these spacious rectangular bowls. They still have their share of corners and edges to clean, but you didn’t expect me to go all practical now did you?

(More sawmill and wood working stories from our family heritage land, known as the original “farm,” in the coming months. Stay tuned!)